Riding Tips

The times for club rides in the members’ newsletter are when we aim to leave the park. The briefing for the ride starts 2-3 minutes before departure. For those of you not making it to the briefing: we miss you.

The ride briefing is where the captain for the day gets to work out how many and fast the groups are, and to relay any messages (critical things, like where to meet for coffee). If everyone rolls into the park in the last 30 seconds, then we leave late. Worse – if we leave the park and collect 20 extra riders in the first kilometre, then the captain’s carefully planned groups go out of the window and we’ve missed the chance to offer more pace options for everyone.

5:45am, 5:55am, 6am, 7am… I know, it’s complicated. Life would be simpler if it was the same every day, but then we wouldn’t be able to have the same variety rides. Everyone has days when the morning routine goes out the window and you end up racing out of the house half-dressed to chase the back of the bunch as they head off. But if you’re making a regular habit of catching on halfway down Moore Park Road, then it’s time to lay the clothes out and pump the tyres before bed, move that alarm a few minutes earlier – and make the captains’ lives easier with a bright and early showing at the gates.